


Sucks is Such a Strong Word

by plaguehaver



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Always Sunny Title Card: Daniel Breaks Out of Jail, Always Sunny Title Card: Daniel Goes to Jail, But Gwen and David are my Brotp, David Voice: Can I PLEASE Get a Waffle?, It's Midnight Yay, M/M, Making Out, One Shot, Parties, Poisoning, The Great Lawnmower Incident of '06, alcohol mention, death mention, idk - Freeform, it's hard to tell, or maybe not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-23 17:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11994651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plaguehaver/pseuds/plaguehaver
Summary: Small high school au oneshot. Parties are not really David's scene, but when Gwen drags him out to one, he sees a familiar face (and sucks some familiar face).





	1. The Party

**Author's Note:**

> It's really late, but I just had to get this idea out really fast and it might've turned out kinda okay?? Idk, but I'm a huge slut for cryptic, mysterious meetings at parties.

Things at Sleepy Peak High School were as they always were. David had already settled into his usual routine of school and volunteer tutoring the kids at the nearby elementary school. Things always seemed sort of bleak when he wasn’t working his summer job at Camp Campbell. Every day just seemed the same. Everyday he woke up with the same optimistic smile, went to all of the same classes, hung out with the same friends, and tutored the same troubled kids. It was great, as everything was, but he had always felt like something was missing.

“Hey, moron, did you hear me?” A light smack came to the back of David’s head as he realized that he had been spacing out. 

“Oh, yeah! I heard you, I’m sorry!” Gwen gave him a look that told him she didn’t buy it.

“Oh, yeah? So what’s your answer?” _Darn._ He definitely had not heard her question, and knew that giving Gwen the wrong answer could cause some major problems. David weighed his options and just decided to agree with her. On whatever she was asking about.

“My answer is yes!”

“Really?

“Absolutely!”

“So you’re coming to Jasper’s party this weekend, you’re not chickening out this time?” _Oh, no._ David hadn’t gone to a party since the seventh grade. He knew that high school parties _always_ had alcohol and drugs and all of those bad things, and he wasn’t about to throw his life away! But now he had to come to this party. He had made a promise to Gwen. Or, at least, he thought he did. 

“Uh, yes? I mean yes. I’m going for sure this time.” Gwen still seemed sceptical, which was to be expected. The ginger had promised to go to multiple parties in the past, but always bailed at the last second. 

“O-KAY, then how’s about I pick you up from your house this time to make sure you actually come?” He swallowed thickly. 

“Sounds great! Because I will definitely be going, absolutely,” he spoke through a forced smile. Gwen smirked.

“Alright then, try not to strain yourself with that too much, either. I’d rather not have to pick you up only to find you had a stroke or cardiac arrest or something.” He relaxed a little, nodding. So that was it. At the age of seventeen, David was going to his first real high school party.

* * *

“No!” David threw another shirt to the ground. Why didn’t he have anything good to wear? At that point, his bedroom floor was already an ocean of discarded garments, as he tried on outfit after outfit. 

“Come ON, David! It’s just a party, not a goddamn fashion show! It’s probably gonna be dark anyways, no one’s gonna be looking at your outfit.” Gwen stood outside the door, growing more and more impatient by the second. He finally picked up his Camp Campbell t-shirt, sighing as he threw it on over his jeans. Something in the back of his brain was telling his that it wasn’t “cool” enough to wear to a party, but he decided that it was better to wear something he was comfortable in, anyways. Gwen wasn’t going to want to leave very quickly, and she was his ride, so chances were that he was going to be stuck there for a while. She looked over David as he stepped out of his bedroom.

“Really? It took you half an hour to decide on _that_ old thing?” 

“Hey! You must respect the official attire of Camp Campbell!”

“Right. I guess this is what I get for dragging _you_ along as my date.” _Wait, what!?_

“ _Date!?_ ”

“Don’t worry about it, I just told my ex that so he wouldn’t be all creepy trying to get back with me. You can ditch me as soon as we get there.” Okay, that was fair. Gwen’s ex-boyfriend was really creepy. David would pretend to date her anytime, if it meant he could keep that weirdo away from her.

They pulled up into Jasper’s house with the party already raging in full. (It wasn’t even eleven yet!) Gwen led him inside without ringing the doorbell or even knocking at all! She just opened the door and went inside. Really, she had no manners. On the other hand, the people inside were even worse. There was this smoky haze that had settled over the (rather large) house. Gwen was right, it was mostly dark aside from a few light-up speakers flashing wild colors. 

Gwen pulled away from him rather quickly to join another group of girls, so David was left alone to wander aimlessly around the house. It was rather jarring, being in someone else’s house when they didn’t even know that you were there. There could be anybody at this party! He chose to avoid the kitchen, knowing full well the dangers of alcohol and peer pressure. There wasn’t anywhere he could go to be alone. Everywhere he turned, there were just more and more people. David only had one option left: the second floor.

Now, customarily, you weren’t really supposed to go to the second floor of someone’s house when you were visiting, unless you were invited. It was like some unspoken, pseudo-vampire rule of etiquette. But David hadn’t even seen Jasper the entire time he was there. (The boy really was like some sort of ghost). So what was he supposed to do? Just go up by himself? I mean, how bad could it have been downstairs? It was semi-comforting to tell himself he could just deal with it all, but he turned a corner and saw someone belly-flop onto the dining room table, breaking it in half. Okay, yeah, upstairs was definitely going to be better.

When he reached the second floor, he was surprised not to find it completely empty. There were a few groups of people talking amongst themselves, but it _was_ still much better. David looked towards the doors lined up on either side of the hallway, picking one at random and turning the knob. Inside were two people tangled up in each other and having too much fun for being in someone else’s house. He closed the door quickly with a quiet “ _eep_ ” and turned around, face burning. 

As he stalked away from the room he caught the eyes of another boy. He was smiling at him and laughing a little, presumably at his reaction to the couple. Those eyes, they were blue, but so pale that they glowed in low light. His hair was almost the same shade as his porcelain skin and there was something about the smirk on that face that gave David a sense of deja vu. He shook off the way that his skin crawled and found himself a piece of wall to hold up, watching as the boy disappeared down the stairs.

David sank down to his knees dejectedly. This party kinda sucked. And that was a strong word. On one hand, no one had tried to made him do drugs, like the teachers said they would, but on the other, he was feeling incredibly left out. Maybe he could just leave for a while and come back when Gwen was ready to go. No, that was a bad idea, he would probably get lost again, and he didn’t want a repeat of the Great Lawnmower Incident of ‘06. He pulled out his phone, no service, just his luck. He scrolled through the pictures on his phone, in hopes that someone would just come get him and take him away to Waffle House or something.

“Hey.” The voice nearly made David jump out of his skin and as he looked up at the blond boy from earlier, he finally realized where he had seen him. He and the boy had been in the same chemistry class freshman year. He never had talked to the boy very much, but towards the end of the year, he had gotten expelled for allegedly putting arsenic in the teacher’s coffee. The teacher didn’t die, but was out for the count so long that there were actually charges pressed against the boy, and he spent some time in _actual jail_.

“You-You’re…”

“Yeah. I’m Daniel. I’m actually surprised you remember me.” Daniel slid down the wall to sit next to him. “Here.” He held a very cliche red solo cup out to David, smiling when he hesitated. “I promise there’s no arsenic or otherwise fatal chemicals.”

“No, it’s not, that I just...I don’t, uh, drink.”

“It’s Pepsi.”

“Oh. Thanks.” He took the cup and took a long, slow drink, Daniel mirroring him. “So, um, that was really nice of you and all, but why are you talking to _me_?” Daniel leaned his head back and closed his eyes as if in deep thought.

“Hmmmm,” he cracked his eyes open to look sideways at David. “You were the only one who didn’t seem to be scared of me.” David swallowed audibly.

“Um, I...Should I be?” Daniel’s face was really close now, and David suppressed a blush.

“Well, that’s your own decision. You already drank out of that cup, so I’ll guess that you’re decision was a no.” It was absolutely a no. The boy’s shoulder was pressed against his and as he took another drink, David could feel the muscles in his arms flexing. His face was really heating up now. 

“I guess you just seem like someone that’s easy to trust.” Daniel laughed, and it was simultaneously musical and haunting.

“Believe it or not, you’re the first person that’s ever told me that. Most people have a hard time trusting someone who’s been to jail, even if I’ve supposedly ‘learned my lesson.’” Whatever Daniel was drinking was definitely not Pepsi, and his body temperature seemed to increase by the second.

“Have you? Learned your lesson, I mean.” The blond smirked.

“I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet. Maybe you could...help me decide.” At that point, the two were sharing the same breath, it was a miracle that their noses weren’t touching.

“What does that mean?” David’s voice was no more than a whisper.

“I have no fucking idea.” A hand hooked around the back of David’s neck and his lips crashed into Daniel’s. He breathed in sharply through his nose, and leaned in. Daniel’s tongue made its way into his mouth, only bringing them closer. David threw his arms around the other’s neck, not wanting to let go. The two stayed there for what was equally seconds and an eternity before David’s phone buzzed in his pocket and Daniel pulled away, leaving the redhead breathless. 

“Xemoog, I am so drunk.” Daniel carded his fingers through the other’s short hair as David checked his phone

“I have to go, it’s Gwen. She says this party sucks.”

“Sucks is such a strong word.”

“Indeed it is.” David stood up, a smile permanently stuck onto his face. “Where...Where can I see you again?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not exactly welcome around Sleepy Peak High, so...Wait, your shirt. Camp Campbell?” David looked at his shirt. 

“Oh, yeah. I work there during the summer.” Daniel chuckled. 

“That’s cute. Maybe I’ll make a visit down there sometime, then. Somewhere tucked away.” David nodded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. 

“I guess I’ll see you then.”

“See you, David.” He walked down the stairs, bumping into about eight people on his way out of the house. His mind was on other things, and a dreamy smile was draped across his face.

“What’s up with you, weirdo? You walked in looking like you wanted to die and now you’re all happy. This isn’t like the Lawnmower Incident of ‘06 right?” Gwen looked at him through the car window and David shook his head, climbing into the passenger seat.

“I just...met up with an old friend. Hey, do you know anything about Daniel? The one from freshman year?” Gwen looked up from her phone in surprise.

“Don’t tell me you met up with _that_ nutcase!” 

“No! No. Someone just mentioned him and I was wondering where he ended up.” She shrugged and he looked out the window as she started driving.

“Last thing I heard, he had killed one of the guards and got another fifteen years added to his sentence. Kid has a thing for poison, I guess. But he’s not supposed to be out of jail for a long time, so it’s nothing to worry about.” 

_Oh, fuck._


	2. The Afterparty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's like that scene in movies where the two love interests are simultaneously thinking about each other from miles away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly writing this all on the fly and am making no promises about length or completion. Just a warning. Also fyi, Max is still 10 in this AU. Thanks for reading!

Thank gosh it was a Saturday. David rolled over in bed and looked at his clock. 11:45 am. He had never woken up so late in his entire life, well, excluding The Great Lawnmower Incident of ‘06. The party the previous night had left him an emotional wreck. Gwen’s words kept repeating over and over in his head, the broken record only interrupted by the words of Daniel himself. _”He’s not supposed to be out of jail for a long time, so it’s nothing to worry about”...”killed one of the guards”...”Most people have a hard time trusting someone who’s been to jail”...”Fifteen years added to his sentence”...”Maybe you could help me decide”._ Ughhh. It was all so contradictory. None of it was adding up.

If Daniel had fifteen years added to his sentence, then the only way he could’ve been at that party would be if he had escaped from jail. Which would mean that David had spent his night making out with an escaped convict. But, then again, there could always be something going on that David didn’t know about. I mean, it was rude for him to immediately assume the worst of Daniel, especially when he had been so kind last night. There had to be something he was missing. He tried to think back and remember if there had been anything going around about someone escaping from the county jail, but David didn’t watch the news enough to know. When the questions finally got under his skin, he got out of bed, pulling out his phone and googling ‘Sleepy Peak escaped jail Daniel’. The only thing that came up was an article from years ago when Daniel first got arrested. He grimaced and tried ‘Sleepy Peak escaped murderer’. Nothing. Maybe it wasn’t true, what Gwen told him. Gossip traveled quickly in a small town, but it was still easily distorted. Maybe Daniel didn’t kill a guard after all and was out of jail legally. Yeah...maybe. David decided that’s what he was going to tell himself until he was actually able to clarify that he _hadn’t_ kissed a murderer.

By the time David actually got himself dressed and went down into his kitchen, Max was already sitting at his table looking rather bored.

“What’s up, fuckface?”

“Max, language. And how did you get in? Why are you here so early? You’re not supposed to be over for tutoring for another two hours.” The boy just kept staring at the table where he was currently writing the words ‘Kill me’ over and over on a piece of paper.

“Yeah, well, my parents were back on their shit again, and as much as I _hate_ you, I decided to take the lesser of two evils. So don’t mention it again, moron. Oh, and I have a copy of your house key.” David nodded, trying to hide his sympathy. It usually only made Max more angry. 

“Why isn’t your sister with you? Did she go out?” Max nodded.

“Gwen went out with that one girl really early so I just came by myself. Hey, do you have anything to eat?” David smiled, walking over to the pantry.

“Sure thing. Are sandwiches ok?” 

“Yeah, whatever.” He whipped up a couple of meals for the two of them and then sat down, eating in silence. Max finished eating before him, and decided that staring straight at David was the best entertainment he had at the time. “What’s wrong with you today?” David stopped eating.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for one, you woke up really late, which Gwen says you _never_ do, and usually, you would be talking my ear off about one thing or the other. You’ve just been kinda, sitting there this whole time. What happened to you? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love quiet David more than the usual annoying David, but it’s really...weird. Did you and Gwen fight or something?”

“No! No. Gwen and I are as great as always. I’m just...tired. That’s all.” David smiled, but it didn’t seem to convince the boy.

“Oh, whatever. I’ve spent enough time with your obnoxious ass to know that there’s something going on with you. You didn’t steal anything this time did you? You seem guilty.” 

“No, I didn’t _steal_ anything. And you weren’t even around in ‘06!”

“Uh, yeah, I was. I’m not that young, dumbass.”

“Language.”

“Well, you can keep saying it’s nothing, _David_ , but I’m gonna figure out what’s wrong with you.”

“Aww, Max! Thank you for being so concerned!”

“That’s not what this is! Let’s just get on with the tutoring already.”

* * *

“Hey, dumbass! Wake the fuck up!” Daniel’s eyes cracked open. _Ugh_ , what time was it? And who was yelling at him? “You can’t stay here anymore, man. If all you’re going to do is get drunk and sleep all day, you can leave and find someone else to freeload off of.” Oh, right. He looked up at the angry man standing over him. Daniel had been crashing on this guy’s couch for around a month now. His little escape from jail had been easy enough to manage, but finding a place to go after wasn’t. Jail had made him strong enough, and by then he was a light sleeper, so he managed to stay alive on the streets for a while. It was late August that started to worry him. Without a job, he didn’t have any good clothes and the winter in Sleepy Peak definitely wasn’t kind. 

The flier looking for a roommate was Daniel best choice, ultimately, and he managed to clean himself up enough to convince the man to let him stay. Bleaching his hair had provided a sufficient enough change to his appearance that no one really recognized him unless they had been living in Sleepy Peak for a long time. And, thankfully, Ricardo had not. 

“Ricardo, go easy on me. There’s only a few more weeks until I get to start work.” That was both true and untrue. There was only a few weeks until the man with Daniel’s fake drivers licence and birth certificate came through. Then, he could actually start applying for jobs without the unnecessary baggage of his past.

“Oh yeah? Well my rent is due _today_! I’ve tried to be nice and give you the benefit of a doubt, man., but you just keep failing to pull through. I can’t afford to let you stay here anymore.” _Shit._ If he got kicked out of the apartment, his whole plan would fall to shreds. Daniel put on his best beaten look and peered up at Ricardo.

“Please, Ricardo. I-I’m just so _afraid_ to stay out on the streets again. And, and if I go home now, who knows what my father will do to me. I...I just want to feel safe again. Please, Ricardo. Just...Just give me one more chance. I’ll do anything!” The man grit his teeth and looked away. Early on, Ricardo had let it spill that he had come from an abusive family and managed to escape and make a life for himself. It was, in all honesty, a very touching story. It also provided inspiration for an equally crushing story that could be used to sway Ricardo’s opinions. 

“Just...fine. Do you have _any_ money right now?” Daniel nodded and rooted through his backpack, pulling out two hundred dollars that had been hidden inside a granola bar wrapper. “Okay, look. I take the two hundred. I use one hundred for rent and keep the other hundred until you pull through with that job. Capiche?” Daniel nodded. That was fine with him. And it was extra fine because he knew where Ricardo kept his cash hidden. (The freezer? Really? How more predictable could you be?) 

“Thank you so much, _man_. I promise you won’t regret this.” Ricardo just sighed and rubbed his temple. 

“I gotta go to work, okay? Be back around midnight like usual. Clean the place up while 

I’m gone, will you?” Daniel nodded and smiled at the man as he walked out the door. Xemoog, that man was a pain in the ass. He pulled his tired body off of the couch, stretching out his arms and mentally willing away the oncoming hangover. The apartment was easy enough to clean, so within the hour, Daniel found himself with too much time and too little sound. He didn’t exactly like being trapped with his thoughts, as helpful as they might be. The guiding voice of Xemoog was greatly appreciated at times, but most of the time, Daniel just thought he needed to shut the fuck up.

Once he finally got the voice out of his head, his thoughts went back to the night before. It was a bit hard to remember, as those types of nights usually were, but there was one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb: David. David was _definitely_ not a part of the plan. The idiot had seemed just the same as Daniel remembered him to be. Naive and stupidly optimistic. Too trusting. And cute, he forgot cute. The boy had literally just walked in on a couple having sex at a party and seemed shocked by it. He had probably never been to that type of party before. Daniel would’ve been surprised to hear that he had ever been to any party. His normally outgoing self seemed almost uncomfortable at the party of strangers. Yeah, it was definitely cute.

After their little kiss, which was probably bad judgement on Drunk Daniel’s part, he even went as far as to insinuate that they’d see each other again. And, of course, Drunk Daniel made the decision to insinuate the same thing. Camp Campbell? Yeah, right. Like he’d ever get anywhere near that deathtrap-slash-lawsuit waiting to happen. And that Cameron Campbell gave Daniel the shivers. I mean, sure, Daniel was a _murderer_ some would call _psychopathic,_ but at least _he_ had _morals_! The more he thought about the boy, the more he felt like he had made some huge mistake, which wasn’t something Daniel felt often. That’s not to say that Daniel couldn’t deal with it, but for some reason, David’s insistence on seeing him again made Daniel’s stomach turn. _What the fuck was wrong with him?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhhh, yeah. So here's this. Credits for the Max ideas in this go to Eugene_Kline_Sims because they honestly fit so perfectly. Someone on Wattpad asked for more, so I wrote more. I know this is set up like I'm going to continue it, but I honestly can't make any promises. There's this Hamilton/Arcana fic I have right now that's sort of in the same situation, and I started out spitting out a chapter a day and ended up abandoning it for months. So...I guess we'll see.


	3. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"There's a song I know"_   
>  _"That says everyone leaves,"_   
>  _"And it's better to leave first."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Upon watching Cult Camp, I realized that a gay blond cult leader sounded really familiar, so I got a lot of inspo for Daniel’s characterization from everyone’s least favorite uncle, [Lucius Selig](https://thecharter.org/category/selig-pastore-bloodline/lucius-selig/). I also was inspired by the [relationship](https://thecharter.org/category/selig-pastore-bloodline/lucius-selig-portals-memos/) between Lucius and his boyfriend, Christian, but the documents might contain some spoilers as far as where I plan to go for this story, so read at your own discretion.

I was finally getting the hang of the whole ‘party’ thing. My mind hadn’t been quite the same ever since the chance meeting I had with Daniel at Jasper’s house. I decided I needed to try to see him again. My first plan was to just wait until Jasper had another party, which ended up not being the best option. Apparently, Jasper got into a lot of trouble with his parents for the whole “breaking the dining table” thing among all of the other stuff that happened, so Jasper was barely allowed out of the house, forget inviting people in. Jasper wasn’t going to be having any more parties for a long time. 

My next plan was to just wait until Gwen started talking about someone else’s party. Once we hit high school, she had gotten in on pretty much everyone’s social circles, so she knew about almost every party that was going on. It was a good idea in theory, but it turns out that most of the parties she went to weren’t ones that Daniel would probably show up at. A lot of them weren’t very eventful, mostly just small groups of friends hanging out together. I thought that being at a big party where I didn’t know anyone was bad but, as it turned out, being at a small one was so much worse. 

Eventually, I had given up on ever seeing him again. I was just going to have to let all of our hypothetical future meetings be left up to chance, which didn’t prove to be very reliable. It wasn’t long, though, before the thoughts of him were poking at my consciousness again as if Daniel had left some splinter of himself in my mind. I couldn’t get the memory of him out of my head, and the more I tried to ignore it, the worse it got. I had been riding home on the bus when a ray of hope finally broke through the clouds that had been surrounding me.

“Okay, so you’re going tonight, right?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Cool. His parties are always like, really big and crazy. His older brother always brings the booze. And I guess his parents are never around or something, so everyone just kinda goes nuts.”

“Cool. You got his address?”

“Yeah, I wrote it on my hand. 5829 Pamplona av. Man, I wish I had one of those cool new iPhone 4’s, I could just put all my addresses on there.”

“Yeah, I know, but they’re like super expensive.” 

Jackpot. Who knew that eavesdropping on a bunch of walking one-dimensional bleach blonde valley girl stereotypes could actually be useful? I wrote the address down on my hand too and formed my final plan. I would just go to any random party I heard about until I found Daniel. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Everything was going wrong. Of _course_ the fake I.D. was legit enough to get me a job, but not to get me alcohol. I don’t know what the hell was wrong with the stupid piece of plastic, but it looked fake enough to get the police called on me. The good news was that I managed to duck out before the cops got anywhere near the bar I was at. The bad news was that it meant that I would have to get new fakes. “Damian McCartney” was definitely getting fired. 

“Rough day at work?” asked Ricardo as he was about to leave the apartment. We hardly saw each other anymore, our job shifts lining up so that I was gone from one to noon, and Ricardo was out four to midnight. I didn’t mind, I never really liked him anyways, but I wasn’t about to let him know I was out of a job again.

“No, luckily. Just a headache.” Ricardo nodded and looked down at his phone. It wasn’t completely a lie. Ever since I had first been arrested, the headaches were almost as frequent an occurrence as Xemoog’s guidance showing up uninvited. Drugs never helped, legal or otherwise. Most of the time, my only option was to drink enough that my mind was fuzzy and the world was soft around the edges. I knew it was reckless, but I would do anything to get rid of that awful feeling. 

“Oh, hey, you remember my friend Adam? He was wondering if you could pick up some booze for his brother’s party tonight. It’s cool if you can’t though.” 

“I think I can manage that. What’s his address?” Ricardo scribbled out the numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

“Thanks man, you’re great.” He gave me a little half wave and left. Like hell I was gonna be able to walk into a liquor store after today, much less purchase anything. But the prospect of some free alcohol sounded extremely appealing. And I would only have to drown out Xemoog’s ramblings about the Galactic Confederacy for a few more hours. _Wonderful._

I showed up around midnight with an outstanding lack of alcohol on me. It didn’t matter though, by now someone else had surely stocked the coolers and that Adam guy could go suck a dick for all I cared. It wasn’t like he was _my_ friend. It wasn’t like I _had_ any, aside from the shapeless being transmitting messages directly into my brain. While the last party I went to had an abundance of stoners, this one was really a beer party. You couldn’t walk five feet without someone drunkenly stumbling into you and/or feeling you up. Or trying to steal your wallet. That guy was _way_ too close. 

The kitchen was in fact the place to be. Everyone yelling about whoever’s turn it was to do body shots. I gently shoved my way over to the counter, grabbing myself a cup, throwing any number of indiscernible liquors together and taking a sip. Disgustingly perfect. I strolled around leisurely, looking for the place with the least amount of people. The living room was full, the bathroom was occupied, the bedrooms all had some very happy couples in them, and from what I could tell, there was some crazy shit going on in both the garage _and_ the basement. I spun the very limited wheel of options in my head and decided to head into what was probably the laundry room. This room wasn’t empty either, instead occupied by a very familiar face. 

“David?” The redhead glanced up from his phone like a deer caught in headlights.

“Daniel!” He sat up on top of the drier, knees squished up against his chest. His stupid smile was striking under the fluorescent lights. 

“What are you doing here?” Had his friend dragged him along to another party again? Why would he even come to another party? David had looked so unhappy at the last one, I didn’t expect to see him at another one ever. As I looked at him, the usual loud voice in my head went silent and I could finally think again. Or at least, I thought I could think. If I was actually in my right mind, I would’ve left this room the moment I saw David. It was probably the alcohol. Yeah. It took all of one sip to get me completely smashed and I was just being stupid and drunk right now. There was some other voice in my head now, that sounded strangely like myself. It was saying that I wasn’t drunk, I was just an idiot. Was this a conscience? I didn’t like it.

“I was looking for you.” He was what? David was here, at a party, just because he wanted to see me? I took a long drink, draining half the contents of my solo cup before looking back at the boy. His smile had quickly changed to an expression of nervousness. 

“I’m sorry, I must’ve heard you wrong. You said you’re here because you _wanted_ to _see me_?” David looked down. 

“I’m sorry, it’s...I’m stupid. You can leave if you want.” He scratched at the back of his neck sheepishly, getting his phone out so he could go back to acting like he didn’t care. 

“No, you’re not stupid, I’m...I mean, I just…” I sighed. I held out my hand and David looked at it for a moment before realizing what I wanted. He placed his phone into my hand and I unlocked it (kid had no password on it) and turned on the flashlight, setting it flat against the washer, turning the overhead light off and climbing up to sit next to him. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, breathing deeply. My headache was gone, and I felt like I had ascended. This was heaven on Earth. Just sitting here, next to a boy I hadn’t seen for years, completely at peace.

“So…” David began.

“So?”

“You’re here.”

“You wanted to see me.”

“I did.”

“What did you want to do once you saw me? Or was that the only goal?” He chuckled.

“I hadn’t really planned that far.” I hummed in acknowledgement, opening my eyes.

“Maybe you should plan your actions out more carefully. Or else you could get in some real trouble. I have a plan set out for myself, after all. Just to make sure.”

“What about me?” I looked at him, but he was facing away.

“You?”

“Yeah, me. Was I a part of the...plan?” I laughed.

“You were never someone I expected to show up, that’s for sure.” The pure reverence in my tone must not have come across.

“Sorry for messing up all of your plans. It’s all I’m good at.” I swallowed thickly. David still refused to look at me. That couldn’t stand. I placed my fingers lightly against his jaw, turning him to face me. His face was warm and his skin was softer than I remembered. The corner of my lips turned up in some semblance of a smile.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s exciting to throw caution to the wind, you know. Everyone needs a little trouble now and then.” I was drunk, and my words may have come out a bit more flirtatious than I had intended them too, but that was okay. Until I heard what he had to say next. 

“Like breaking out of jail? Or _murder_?” I froze, his eyes boring holes into mine. I could feel his pulse racing so fast, it was only rivaled by my own. Someone had told him. Between now and our last meeting, someone must have told him about me. About what I had done. I tried to read the emotions on his face, but there were so many, I couldn’t discern a single one. I pressed my lips together. This _certainly_ was not a part of the plan. The rift between us was only growing larger by the second, and I needed to say something. But what was I supposed to say? I didn’t even know David that well, how was I to know how he’d react? Denial or confession, I had no idea what he wanted to hear. And that wasn’t something I was used to. The beating of his heart skipped, and I knew it was now or never. In a moment of blatant stupidity, I kissed him.

It was nothing like the first kiss we shared, nervous and messy. No. This was intended to be a distraction, but of course, David saw right through it. His head leaned in further, showing what he really wished to do, but his brain took control of his hands, and he pushed himself away from me, shrinking back onto his side of the drier.

“I knew it,” he whispered. “I knew it. I just didn’t want to believe that you would...that I had…I…” David mumbled to himself and I could feel pain in my chest, my headache coming back, along with the taunting voice of Xemoog. David planted his hands on either side of himself, and pushed off, landing on the peeling laminate floor without a sound. He grabbed his phone from where it had sat between us, turning off the light, and shrouding the both of us in complete darkness. 

“Goodbye, Daniel. It was...nice. To finally see you again.” The door opened as he began to walk out, and I could feel my hands shaking.

“Wait! David…” He looked back at me, expression filled with worry and almost...fear. “Where can I see you again?” It was a cheap shot and I knew it, bringing back memories of that perfect night where he was blissfully unaware. His face twisted up in hurt. _Fuck._ I was an idiot. I had underestimated him. 

“Daniel, I-”

“David!” An angry voice came from down the hall and I could hear rushed footsteps...small footsteps. 

“Max! What are you doing he-”

“I hid in your trunk, you should’ve guessed that already. Wait, who the fuck is that?” A small boy came into my view. He stood in the doorway, pointing an accusing finger at me. What was a kid doing at this kind of party? And _why_ was he getting in my way?

“Nobody, Max. Let’s go, you’re not supposed to be he-”

“No, wait! I remember him from the news! He’s that creepy cult fucker that killed like, eighteen people! David, what were you doing with him?” The boy- Max -looked at David angrily, but David grew silent and just turned to stare at me. 

“It wasn’t just your prison guard...you...killed _eighteen people_. Life sentences and you just...walked out and...with me, you…” David looked at me like I was the anti-christ. Darkness incarnate. The reason behind all suffering. The voice grew louder, and louder, and more abrasive. I couldn’t hear my own thoughts. I wasn’t sure whether I was thinking at all. Looking back on it, there was no way I was. 

“David, I-”

“Let’s go, David.” Max grabbed him by the arm, pulling him down the hall, a fixed look of sadness upon David’s face. I had failed. Xemoog had chosen me to be his disciple, given me all of his wisdom and guidance, and I had failed him. He had repeated it over and over in my head like a mantra: _This boy will kill you, Daniel,_ but of course I didn’t listen. I fisted my hands in my hair, only succeeding in making the pain worse. _No, no, no, no! This was all wrong!_ The plan I had spent years forming and cultivating had been ripped to shreds! Tiny, insignificant shreds. All because I had strayed from the word of my savoir and given into temptation. But it wouldn’t happen again, no, I would make a new plan, get everything I desired, and this time… _no one_ would get in my way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention I set this in 2011. Also, you can listen to [this](http://force-yourself.tumblr.com/post/159562100906/toto-africa-playing-from-another-room) whenever I put a party in the chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Ask me about the Great Lawnmower Incident of '06. Yeah, I don't know what my thing is with people who've been to jail and are just kinda walkin around, hangin at parties, kissin some dudes, i dont know. That just seems like the life right there. Yell at me on tumblr [@plague-haver](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/plague-haver)


End file.
